A Letter of Degradation and Contempt
by Just a Blip on the Radar
Summary: A hypothetical letter in which Miss Elizabeth Bennet describes her level of abhorrence in regards to Mr. Wickham's deceitful ambitions. This would be written following Mr. Darcy's revealing letter to her while visiting Charlotte and Mr. Collins.


Mr. Wickham,

A remark of endearment would normally not go amiss in most matters of addressing cordial letters of exchange. However, I fear that I am suffering from a deplorable lack of inspiration that could accurately and succinctly depict my standing opinion of you. You'll find that this letter discloses several perturbing and inconvenient matters. I assure you, you'll soon understand why my good humor has shifted so prosaically once you have had the opportunity to read this letter at length.

I recently received a letter from Mr. Darcy that is of interest and alarm to me. Incidentally, it is rather distressing news that also pertains to you, Mr. Wickham. I feel compelled to relay to you what was expressed in the letter, as well as to inform you of my reaction. In overview for the part of the letter that was relevant to you, Mr. Darcy had thoroughly described the events that had followed the death of his father all those years ago. It came as a shock to me to discover that Mr. Darcy had an entirely different perspective on what chain of events unfolded than what you expressed to me. I had expected that Darcy would bemoan the unfairness of being neglected as a favorite in the family, as you had indicated previously. But much to my surprise and dismay, the opposite turned out to be true.

Understand, Mr. Wickham, that I have previously held you in the highest esteem and respect. I do not believe either of us is in a position to deny that we both had indicated our growing admiration for each other at one point or another. I was twice the fool for believing my initial opinion of your character. This is why I was so disheartened at discovering that I had been lied to. I must make it perfectly clear to you that there is no worse a deed to do unto me.

All this time...and I had deluded myself into thinking that you were an unfortunate victim in this battle of hatred between yourself and Mr. Darcy. You conveyed _such_ an amiable countenance, that who was I to believe otherwise? I was simply stupefied at the knowledge of your atrocious behavior. Your affability and charming disposition have now vanished entirely from my depiction of your true nature.

You may wonder why it is that I believe Darcy's recollection instead yours. Darcy, despite his disagreeable manner, still has yet to be dishonest with me. He has on numerous occasions felt no remorse in exclaiming the qualms of both myself and my family. You, on the other hand, displayed a worse nature: that of flattery and deceptive humility. Your prodigal behavior on Darcy's behalf makes your dishonesty even more contemptuous in my eyes. Because of this, I have adamantly rescinded my former analysis of your character. You have displayed a most odious deception, and proven yourself to be an unsavory character. I am thoroughly disgusted with the idea of having ever cozened myself into thinking that your intentions had been entirely honorable.

You have given me no inclination or motivation to alter my opinion. Once bitten, I am twice shy. I am disagreeable with the idea of change. One would have to argue a very convincing campaign to restore my deference to your true nature. Mr. Darcy has partially succeeded in this fashion, and since your actions have proven more cowardly and duplicitous in comparison, I am not inclined to believe you will ever receive the upper hand in this deliberation.

As upsetting as this entire debacle is, understand that I do not wish to obliterate our respectability. While there is no doubt that you are accountable for your actions, there is also no reason to expose your wrongdoing to all in society. We both know how disjointed and convoluted gossip can get. I for one, have had quite enough of fabrications. Now that we have established the severity of your actions and the consequences that follow in lying to me so insidiously, you can now understand why from here on in I shall abscond any and all further discussion with you in an openly friendly manner. I hold no high regard for you, and it would be in your best interest to simply avoid conversing with me in a public setting. Or any setting, for that matter. You have made a grievous error in assuming I am of a gullible variety. My forthcoming response should indicate how veracious and unforgiving my opinions can be. Do not attempt to challenge it again. Swaying my opinion for a second time is far more futile than the first. I hope I have made myself perfectly clear to you.

Fare thee well,

Elizabeth Bennet

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><p><em><strong>AN: ** This letter was written for my AP Lit class as an outside project. The ideas of what would be expressed in this letter were conjured by myself and a small group of people, but the actual writing her was largely my own. We were all falling behind on getting it done in time, and I whipped this thing up the day before it was due. It was in a rush, so some grammatical/mechanical errors were present. But we still got a 19/20 for it, which did me proud. :) Thought I'd just share this with all of you here, since it is still technically a fan fiction in its own right. Hope you liked it!_


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